Unreal Fellowship: Storytelling, the first educational program organized by 3Lateral and Epic Games throughout May and June, gathered 15 local 3D artists with extensive experience in video games, film, advertising, and other creative fields. Jovan Dudić, Technical Director at ILBES, was selected among them. 

After five weeks of intensive training which included frequent lectures, practical work, professional motion capture sessions, and experimentation with various tools from the Unreal Engine system, the Fellows produced 15 projects based on their original scripts. 

They used MetaHuman Animator to tell their compelling stories, making this a unique opportunity for them to test its capabilities before others, since the tool was officially released only a few days after the program ended. 

The official sizzle reel with all their cinematics has just been published on the Unreal Engine channel. It involved scenes from the cinematic “Darkness” created by Jovan Dudić, based on the story written by Jelena Pranić, Project Supervisor & Producer at ILBES, and Jovan Dudić. 

The film was based on the tale about the primitive human feelings and desires, in a world where someone’s ambitions and discoveries are taken advantage by others, for the sake of their own benefit. 

We asked Jovan to tell us more about the program, the cinematic, and his perception of using Metahuman Animator in regular work. Read his interview below: 

Q&A with Jovan Dudić 

 Why did you decide to apply for the program? 

J: I was very interested in expanding my knowledge about the Unreal Engine, and trying out the possibilities offered by the Metahuman Animator and real-time rendering technology. The development of the Unreal-Engine already had a great impact on the animation and film production, so I felt that I need to take this opportunity to learn from the best people in the industry and implement new skills at work. 

 What were the theme and concept of the program? 

J: The program was dedicated to Storytelling. It was conducted as the compressed version of the more comprehensive course which covers the basics of the Unreal Engine, the use of Sequencer and the character animation tools, along with the advanced materialization and lighting techniques. The course was very intensive and very practical.  

 Who were the participants? 

J: The participants were professionals from the industry, including 3D generalists, film directors, visual effects artists, etc. It felt very inspiring to be surrounded by all those people. 

 What was the outcome of attending the fellowship? 

J: The outcome was a short trailer for a film. I have independently created it by using Unreal Engine. This was an excellent way to demonstrate what I have learnt during the program, and to focus on disciplines like scriptwriting, directing, and editing. 

Do you find this fellowship relevant for your future work in our studio? 

J: Definitely! Over the past month I’ve gained skills which have already helped me become more efficient in engine. I’ve also got a chance to work more on the creative aspects which I haven’t dealt with before. 

Unreal Engine is full of possibilities which allow you to complete many stages of the project by yourself. Considering my curiosity and experience in the production pipeline, I can tell that this program was a huge benefit for me for many reasons. 

 Do you now have useful advice for your teammates? 

J: I would advise my colleagues not to be afraid of experimenting with new tools and techniques. This is the time of big changes in our industry, and it is important to keep up with technological developments. I mainly refer here to Metahuman Animator, which is almost a local product. The new possibilities of shooting facial performance are fantastic and represent a great advantage compared to any other software. And the renders are faster (laugh). 

Finally, I would like to take this chance to say thank you to all lecturers, organizers, and innovators from 3Lateral, Epic Games, and Materriya who made this experience of learning possible. Of course, I would also like to thank the actors and the entire crew from Take One for their motion capture support.  

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Applications for the next iteration of Unreal Fellowship Storytelling (which kicks off by the end of September) are open until August 13. Program and competition details are listed on the Epic Games Novi Sad ArtStation page.